Southeast Georgia Health System recently presented The DAISY Award® For Extraordinary Nurses to Shelly Erdmier, R.N., in recognition of the kindness and compassion she provides every day to her patients.

A registered nurse in the Health System’s Brunswick Campus Cancer Care Center, Erdmier was nominated for The DAISY Award by one of her patients, Mark Hanly, M.D.

Excerpts from Erdmier’s nomination include, “I am a physician and previous Chief of Medical Staff at Southeast Georgia Health System. In 2020, I was diagnosed with cancer. The diagnosis required me to undergo chemotherapy and radiotherapy. There have been some very dark days for me and my family since the diagnosis one year ago. I chose to get my therapy at the Health System and I was fortunate enough to have Shelly Erdmier as my nurse. Her compassion, efficiency, and wonderful sunny personality amid her deep faith have been an inspiration to me and my family. Both my wife and I relied on her for support when I was at my lowest. I have no idea how she keeps it up. We have excellent nurses at Southeast Georgia Health System, but some are unbelievably good, like Shelly. Always joyful, caring and fully engaged with each patient she looks after, she has been an outstanding caregiver. She is knowledgeable, technically skilled and meticulous in providing care. Shelly is the best of the best.”

During the presentation, Erdmier also received “A Healer’s Touch” sculpture, hand-carved by artists of the Shona Tribe in Africa, and Grandy’s Sinnamon® Rolls, donated by owners, and siblings, Paul and Mary Kay Spence.

Created by The DAISY Foundation™—an acronym for Diseases Attacking the Immune System—The DAISY Award was established by family members in memory of J. Patrick Barnes. Barnes died at the age of 33 in late 1999 from complications of Idiopathic Thrombocytopenic Purpura (ITP), a little known but not uncommon auto-immune disease. The care Barnes and his family received from nurses while he was ill inspired this unique means of thanking nurses for making a profound difference in the lives of their patients and the patients’ family and friends. Today, more than 5,000 health care facilities and nursing schools worldwide honor nurses with The DAISY award.

Nurses can be nominated for The DAISY Award online at sghs.org/daisy-award, or nominations may be placed in DAISY boxes located throughout the Health System’s Brunswick and Camden campuses. A committee consisting of Health System team members, including clinical and non-clinical staff, leadership, medical staff and board members, review the nominations and determine The DAISY Award recipient(s).